DOT says 'hazmat' cargo label may draw terrorists

By LEE BOWMAN, SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, November 22, 2002

WASHINGTON -- Concerned that terrorists might use hazardous-materials warning signs as readily as emergency workers, federal officials are looking for more secure ways of identifying what's on trucks and trains.

But firefighters and other rescue workers are sharply opposed to removing the brightly colored diamond-shaped placards required for containers hauling everything from explosives and radioactive materials to corrosives and poisons.

Ever since 9/11, federal officials have urged companies transporting hazardous materials to be more vigilant, most recently focusing on threats to railroads.

"We understand the security concerns, but we're very wary of taking this established tool away from emergency responders for something new that everyone in the field may not fully understand or have the equipment to use," said Craig Sharmin, director of government relations for the National Volunteer Fire Council, which represents volunteer fire, emergency medical and rescue services around the country.

The U.S. Transportation Department, after meeting with industry officials about placards and other "hazmat" rules that might affect security, requested that its research center in Cambridge, Mass., study alternatives to placards.

"There are a number of security issues under review, but the department's not taking any formal action on placards now," said DOT spokesman Joseph DelCambre, adding there's no timetable for the technical review.

The transportation industry has new technologies to track and identify hazardous cargoes, from radio and cellular-phone transponders linked to ground antennas or satellites, to bar codes or "smart cards" attached to containers' sides.

Numerous services allow companies and authorized emergency agencies to quickly check on shipments through the Internet.

Every day, more than 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials move across the United States, and some 15,000 spills or other accidents result each year, including about 400 that the DOT deems "serious."

"That's a lot of ethyl, methyl, nasty stuff," said Alan Caldwell, government liaison for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. "And the first responders need to know what's there and how to protect themselves from it. It's a trade-off between what we know happens every day and what's possible, and right now that knowledge for us outweighs any help the placards might give the bad guys."